Texas A&M University serves more than 70,000 students across its sprawling College Station campus, known for its rich traditions, world-class academics, and vibrant student life. Throughout the year, the university hosts thousands of events, including lectures, commencement activities, donor receptions, performances, banquets, and student celebrations. Managing audio for such a wide range of events requires equipment that can easily adapt to different venues, audiences, and production requirements.
Rather than relying solely on installed sound systems, Texas A&M’s University Center & Special Events team deploys portable audio racks throughout campus, often moving equipment from one event directly to the next. To meet those demands, the team relies on LEA Professional amplifiers, whose combination of power, onboard DSP, portability, and reliability has become essential to daily operations.
“We’re deploying them on a near-daily basis during the busy months,” said Corey Klinger, Event Technician at Texas A&M. “As soon as one event ends, the equipment is being shipped to the next one. There are times when some of our amps don’t come back home for more than a week because they’re constantly moving from event to event.”
The portable systems support virtually every type of campus gathering imaginable, from intimate ribbon-cutting ceremonies with a podium and two loudspeakers to banquets and galas serving more than 900 attendees. By using LEA’s onboard DSP rather than external processors, the university keeps each portable rack simple, compact, and ready for immediate deployment.
Connect Series 354 amplifiers now serve as the team’s go-to solution for most events, easily scaling from small presentations to powering six JBL VRX loudspeakers for large banquet spaces. When additional low-frequency reinforcement is required, Connect Series 702 amplifiers provide dedicated power for subwoofers using onboard DSP presets.
The IoT-enabled 4-channel CS354 delivers 350 watts per channel, while the 2-channel CS702 delivers 700 watts per channel. They support both Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z, selectable by channel, eliminating the need for separate amplifiers to handle different speaker impedances, while streamlining installations and reducing equipment costs. The Connect Series also includes 96kHz DSP as a standard feature, providing a range of benefits that greatly enhance audio performance and system versatility.
The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family featuring cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement, and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, AV teams can remotely control and monitor amplifiers from anywhere, at any time, and with no subscription model or hidden costs. It’s completely free to use.
Since first adopting LEA Professional amplifiers in 2021, Texas A&M has placed the systems under demanding real-world conditions. The amplifiers are transported across campus, loaded into vehicles, assembled at venues, and frequently operate outdoors. Despite that rigorous schedule, reliability has remained exceptional.
“In the five years we’ve used them, I think we’ve only had one instance where an amp acted a little strange,” Klinger said. “LEA helped us troubleshoot it, and we haven’t had a problem since.”
For a department responsible for transporting equipment across a large campus, reducing rack weight has been one of LEA Professional’s biggest advantages. Compared to the university’s previous amplifier inventory, Connect Series amplifiers dramatically reduced both weight and physical effort required during setup. The reduced weight has also improved overall event efficiency, allowing staff to move quickly between venues while minimizing setup time.
“The first thing that stood out was how light they were compared to the older amplifiers,” said Benjamin Leonido, Event Manager at Texas A&M. “The old racks often required two or three people to move. Now a single person can roll a rack into place without worrying about injuries or finding enough people to help.”
With thousands of events occurring across campus throughout the year, the ability to deploy reliable, powerful audio systems at a moment’s notice has become essential. Whether reinforcing a campus lecture, supporting a student performance, or powering audio for hundreds of guests at a formal gala, the university’s event production team knows the same portable amplifier racks are ready for the next assignment.
“The LEA amps have been going strong for us ever since we got them,” said Klinger. “They’ve proven themselves every step of the way.”
